u/Smoke-me-a-kipper-58

Popped into the local M&S Food and the cheese selection is huge and very impressive. After watching a Sorted Food segment my wife and I have been looking out for cheeses from Caws Cenarth.

Today we found they stock three of the cheeses we were looking for and … wow!

Golden Cenarth - a washed-rind cheese reminiscent of a mild Epoisses.

Perl Wen - a nice, brie-like cheese with more substance.

Perl Lâs - a creamy, mild blue. Very lightly blue.

I wanted some nice bread but I had bad memories of M&S bread being more like US bread these days with a long shelf life and texture like loft insulation. The lovely lady at the bakery directed me to their “only x ingredient” range. No mystery carcinogenic ingredients labelled as “flour additive” or “preservative”.

If you’ve noticed breads getting less like food and more like a toy food for children to play with but not eat, the additives are why. They hide them with seeds and fruits but the breads are potentially dangerous (but more profitable).

I blame the 2024 regulations introduced to replace EU standards that the UK abandoned after 2023.

Just had Oxyotl die. He is unable to respawn for 13 turns.

I’ve played Tzeentch and am not aware of such an ability. Is this a thing?

Just curious.

Battle between my Kroxigor stack against a Norscan army comprising a mix of Marauders, Bearmen, Skin Wolves, Norscan Giants and War Mammoths.

I lost 4 Kroxigors out of 205 troops (201 Kroxigors plus Nakai and 3 unharmed heroes).

They lost 568 out of 746.

Apparently, that’s a close victory.

Not sure I killed any Giants or Mammoths so they’re saying 568 Skin Wolves and Marauders is worth about the same as 4 Kroxigors?

I mean I did make sure I got Curse of Cannibalism from a wreck before the fight so they’re basically super-Trolls but, really?

How does it work, are there any good resources that explain it?

What are your favourite shouts that come out in battle?

Ones that make me smile or laugh every time include Ratling Guns “Rat-a-tat-a” getting faster as a scream as they start up.

There is also a Dwarfen shout of “come on you wazzocks”, that reminds me of my school days or cheering on my team from the terraces. I’m also quite partial to a “shift those Dwarfen legs”.

What are the best quotes you remember from your campaigns?

I have, in the past, relied on M&S food when I cannot make my own but recently have had some diabolical experiences to the extent I wonder if their food is not only bad but actively dangerous to be consumed.

The white “Baguette”. It is in parentheses because I am not sure if I should serve it or use it as a spacer next time I fit a window. They are like foam. All the holes inside are identically sized and a baguette, when squeezed, should not spring back like that. The next day they should be hard, not floppy.

The pizza seems made from focaccia dough based on the holes inside but the outside burns whilst the part with very little ingredients on is still like uncooked dough. I resorted to a frying pan to apply direct heat to the dough and some burned and the rest remained stubbornly uncooked. It’s not my oven. Tesco pizzas cook fine, as does the M&S expensive range and so do Lidl and Aldi (and my own). So it’s the composition of the dough that is the issue.

Did someone ask Chat GPT and never test it? How on earth did this make it onto supermarket shelves?

Not to be a downer - the revamp of the cheeses is incredibly successful. The cold meats (delicatessen) are great. Some of the wines - the newly discovered range in particular - are excellent. So it’s not everything. But note, the things I like are selected by, not made by, M&S.

However when a staple shows such a huge miss in quality assurance, it does one wonder what shortcuts are being taken elsewhere…

So … am I alone or has quality been sacrificed for profit at M&S Food? Have they recently changed the company that makes their own brand stuff? Are we going to see further deterioration in quality as a bunch of cowboys gets more and more of the M&S own brand catalogue?